Wealth Management
From 2021 to 2024, the U.S. saw a record surge in immigration, much of it from people crossing the southern border without visas. Many were released into the country to seek asylum or given temporary protection, and millions entered the labor force.
By mid-2024, tougher policies and more deportations slowed the inflow sharply. Economists say fewer immigrants could mean slower population and job growth, which may weigh on the broader economy.
Studies show immigration tends to boost economic output while having little effect on inflation. Looking ahead, stricter policies could further reduce growth if fewer workers are available, especially if mass deportations are carried out.
Finsum: For now, the lasting impact will depend on whether immigration levels stabilize or continue to decline.
Investors’ demand for tax-efficient investing is fueling rapid growth in separately managed accounts (SMAs), which now top $500 billion in tax-managed assets—up 67% since 2022. Unlike mutual funds or ETFs, SMAs allow investors to directly own securities, enabling personalized tax management such as loss harvesting.
Direct indexing remains the most popular strategy, but providers are expanding into active equity and fixed-income SMAs to capture additional tax alpha. Challenges arise with active managers, since balancing loss harvesting with stock-picking discipline can dilute investment ideas, though new approaches like substitute stock lists aim to resolve that.
Fixed-income SMAs offer fewer opportunities, but rising rates in recent years did create harvesting potential, while model portfolios are also integrating tax-aware transitions to ease client moves without triggering large gains.
Finsum: Overall, tax-managed SMAs are expanding across asset classes and portfolio models, giving advisors more tools to reduce investors’ tax burdens.
MarketAxess Holdings has launched Axess IQ Connect, a new web-based platform giving wealth managers and private banks real-time access to fixed-income market data. The tool enables advisors to connect with trading desks, monitor liquidity, and view AI-powered bond pricing through CP+, all from any device.
It builds on the company’s Axess IQ system, adding features like interactive watchlists and optional order management for client trades. MarketAxess, which serves about 2,100 firms worldwide, continues to expand its electronic trading and data solutions for the fixed-income market.
The company recently reported stronger-than-expected earnings for Q2 2025, though shares slipped as Jefferies lowered its price target while maintaining a Hold rating.
Finsum: Data and new technology offerings can help advisors better serve their clientele.
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Derivative income ETFs, built around covered call strategies, have surged in popularity as investors seek higher yields. These funds generate income by selling call options on stocks or indexes, with the trade-off being limited upside potential during strong market rallies.
Yields can vary widely depending on how aggressively options are written, with higher payouts often signaling greater risk. The largest products in this space track benchmarks like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, though smaller providers have introduced sector and single-stock versions.
While income potential is attractive, investors should weigh opportunity cost, since these strategies often trail the broader market over time.
Finsum: With interest rates likely to fall, option premiums, and thus fund income, may decline, but yields remain compelling compared to traditional dividend ETFs.
Independent financial advisors switching broker-dealers increasingly want an easy transition, product flexibility, and strong support for growth. Consolidation in the industry has narrowed the pool of broker-dealers, pushing many advisors to consider RIA firms for greater freedom and fewer compliance burdens.
Still, many advisors remain with BDs to retain transactional business alongside fee-based growth, making hybrid models attractive. Technology like DocuSign has lowered barriers to moving, allowing advisors to transition books of business more quickly and with less disruption.
Competition for top talent is fierce, with broker-dealers offering higher transition payouts and low-cost platforms to attract advisors.
Finsum: While RIAs continue to grow rapidly, BDs aren’t going away but must evolve to meet advisor demands or risk falling behind.
Copper prices rose about 2% Wednesday after Freeport-McMoRan warned of major production losses from the suspension of its Grasberg Block Cave mine in Indonesia following a deadly mud rush.
Operations remain halted after two workers were killed and five remain missing, cutting Q3 copper and gold sales by about 4% and 6% versus prior estimates. The impact will be harsher in Q4, with PT Freeport Indonesia’s copper and gold output expected to be negligible compared with forecasts.
Looking ahead, 2026 production could fall 35% below prior projections, with a full return to pre-incident levels unlikely before 2027. Freeport expects its Big Gossan and Deep MLZ mines to restart later this year, while Grasberg’s phased ramp-up begins in 2026, and it has declared force majeure with insurance recovery capped at $700 million.
Finsum: The disruption at one of the world’s largest copper mines comes as global supplies remain tight, further lifting copper prices.